Alex Barris (1922–2004)

Part personal memoir, part textual reference (from reviews, liner notes, and other works mentioning Oscar Peterson), part discography, and part biographical narrative — this is a heady mix of hagiographic enthusiasm and (sometimes) point scoring. And while it doesn’t always come together as a whole, there is certainly enough of merit here to warrant a look.

Alex Barris had been aware of Oscar Peterson’s brilliance even before he made his triumphal appearance at Carnegie Hall that show more launched his international career. Barris was a jazz journalist in Toronto in the 1940s and was astounded by Peterson whenever he visited and performed in Toronto. Thereafter he kept Peterson in his journalistic sights, becoming both a friend and sometime impresario. Which largely explains why this “musical biography” moves between personal memoir and (mostly) objective treatment of Oscar’s recordings. It’s hard to judge whether Barris’ assessment is even close to neutral. But that doesn’t diminish the charm, such as there is.

Although superseded by Peterson’s autobiography that was published in the same year (and which contains many of the same anecdotes), Barris’ musical biography remains a useful volume for insight into the recordings. I especially appreciated his recommendation of four cds that best capture Peterson’s development over the years: Oscar Peterson Beginnings — 1945-1949; The Oscar Peterson Trio at the Stratford Shakepearean Festival (from 1956); Ella and Oscar (from 1975); and Last Call at the Blue Note (from 1990). show less